Childhood Cancer and South Carolina’s Children.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — Every year on average, 120 children in South Carolina alone are diagnosed with cancer, nearly 1/3 of them are treated at Palmetto Health Richland. Tuesday, ABC Columbia sat down with one of them, 15 year old Judith Laird, and her family. Judith was diagnosed this past May with Bukitt’s Lymphoma. “It’s like a fast growing, aggressive from of lymph node cancer,” says Judith Laird. A tumor in her stomach would lead to the diagnosis. “When you’re told your child has cancer, it’s a punch in the chest,” says Alex Laird, Judith’s Dad. Mr. Laird said his family quickly moved from grief to action. “Once we got past the okay what do we do about this, we knew with our faith and with God we would make it through,” says Laird. And they did, as a family. “Everything else just seemed to melt away, nothing else was as important,” says Sarah Laird, Judith’s Mom. Judith is one of many patients doctor Ron Neuberg, Director of the Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorder Center at Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital, sees on a daily basis. He says the center is on the cutting edge of treatment. “We’ve been using nuclear warheads to treat childhood cancer and we’re now using biological smart bombs to try to target the enzymes and processes within cells that are abnormal,” says Dr. Neuberg. And he says there is hope. “It’s more treatable, they’re more curable than adult cancers,”says Dr. Neuberg. Making for success stories like Judith, who is celebrating one week of remission just in time to make her goal of finishing treatment by her 16th birthday on November 12th. Looking back, she had this to say about her journey. “I had to get through it, there was nothing else we could do,” says Judith. For more on how you can help Midlands children in their battle against cancer visit ch.palmettohealth.org/ and click on the “Ways to Give” tab. There you will find several ways to give including to ‘Camp Kemo,’ a summer camp for children battling cancer and blood disorders.